


A Song of Promise

by RandyPandy



Series: Heirs of Legend [6]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chrom!Inigo, Dancer Azur | Inigo, Fates occurs before the other FEs, Gen, Hidden Truths DLC, Invisible Kingdom | Revelation Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy
Summary: Someone needed to perform the Vallite song if they were going to have any chance at defeating Anankos. It just so happened that, with Azura's injury, he was the only other person capable of doing so.
Series: Heirs of Legend [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1545451
Comments: 6
Kudos: 83





	A Song of Promise

**Author's Note:**

> An unofficial Part 6 to my Heirs of Legend series -- it takes place in the same world. All this fic proves is that I'm weak for Dancer!Inigo.
> 
> There's heavy usage of headcanons in this fic.

It was through sheer dumb luck that Laslow had gotten out of explaining his usage of Siegfried.

Only Peri and Lord Xander had seen it, and with the advancing Vallite armies (it appeared that Leo, Odin, and Niles had _also_ gotten ambushed), the fact that his flirtatious retainer with no known past was able to use his family's legendary weapon had been pushed to the back of Xander's mind.

They had to reach Anankos first.

Laslow looked at a mirror and ran a hand through his silver hair, wishing, not for the first time, that it was the rich blue that belonged to his father. He wished that the Brand was back in his right eye, which still looked _wrong_ without it after all these years. It would mean that everything was over, and it would mean that he didn't have to hide anymore.

But he wasn't sure _how_ exactly he was going to come clean about this to everybody.

For one, how did one explain to the man they served that they were their descendant from thousands of years into the future, and that they were a prince that had gone back in time (again) to ensure that a mad Fell Dragon didn't destroy the world before they were even born?

He laughed sarcastically to himself. It was impossible.

* * *

Laslow ducked a lance that had been thrown at him, and stabbed the Vallite soldier in front of him as Azura got to her feet, wobbling, and began to retreat behind the rest of the armies. He scooped up her pendant from where it had fallen and followed her to ensure that she made it safely back to the healers.

Even then, they could only do so much with supplies already drained from the fighting that had been going on. Azura had badly sprained her ankle when she had been ambushed by a Vallite soldier no one had seen coming. She could still sing if need be, as well as defend herself with her lance if anyone came too close, but without the graceful movements of the dance, the power would be weakened.

It would not be enough to work on Anankos. And it was _needed_ if they wanted to defeat Anankos.

But Laslow knew the song, having heard her sing it so many times. He had always had a skill for memorizing music, which made it easy for him to occasionally perform duets with Brady whenever the other played his violin, and this song was no exception to that rule. Plus, even after coming here, he could still sing. Lady Camilla had complimented his singing voice, and even if he had sputtered in embarrassment, he knew that Lady Camilla did _not_ pay compliments lightly.

And he knew the dance. The first time he had seen it, it had struck him as familiar, and it hadn't taken him long to understand why.

It was the exact same dance that his mother had been teaching him before she had died, and the exact same dance that the new Olivia had finished teaching him once he had gone back in time. It was the exact same dance that he practiced every night, under moonlit skies, when no one was watching him. It was his family's dance. It was _his_ dance.

Laslow clasped his mother's ring, on a chain he always wore, and whispered a prayer (whether to his mother, to Naga, to the Dusk Dragon, Anankos himself, he didn't know), before brushing a thumb against the pendant in his hand. He placed it around his neck, the shard of Dragonstone bumping gently against his breastbone.

"Laslow!" Azura called to him, leaning against her Lance from where she stayed in the back of the fighting. "You can't do anything. Only a member of Vallite royalty can use it, even if you know what to do." Her voice was gentle, as if realizing what he was intending to do and trying not to disappoint him. She had, after all, caught him dancing more than once.

"I know." He smiled sadly at her; how could she know, though? Naga, this was _not_ how he had expected his debut in front of others to be. Laslow took a deep breath, forcing away the sudden shyness he was feeling, and as Azura opened her mouth to speak to him again, he began to sing.

_"You are the ocean's grey waves..."_

Time seemed to freeze as Laslow slipped into the familiar haze that he did whenever he danced under moonlight. He could sense numerous pairs of eyes on him: the Hoshidans, the Nohrians, his friends, and Anankos himself all seemed to be paralyzed, silent.

It was as if they couldn't believe what he was doing. Truthfully, Laslow couldn't believe what he was doing either, but he had to remind himself that he _shouldn't_ focus on the fact that everyone was watching him, but on what he had to do. If he kept thinking about everyone, then he would lose his nerve, and _everything_ would be ruined.

_"Destined to seek..."_

Water swirled from his fingertips as he twisted his body in the oh-so-familiar motions; that had never happened before, but then again, he had never had the pendant that amplified his dance's power. He heard several sharp intakes of breath, murmurs of confusion, directed at him, directed at Azura, who was just as confused.

He would have to apologize to her later for shocking her like this. She had thought she had no family left, after all, even if _how_ they were related was a very long story.

"Laslow!" Odin and Selena's frightened voices reached his ears. He wanted to call to his dearest, oldest friends, to reassure them, but he couldn't stop.

With the magic of Valla coursing through him, his blood pulsed in a way that it never had before, and Laslow lost himself.

_"Life beyond the shore, just out of reach..."_

He forgot that he was apparently descended from both Xander and Azura. He forgot that he had the blood of at least three dragons running through him, he forgot to be embarrassed that he was publicly performing. And, for a moment, he even forgot that they were at war against a dragon that could kill him at any point.

It was a blessing, he supposed, that he was in Valla. The dance was fine to perform outside of Valla, but the song itself triggered the curse, hence why Azura had always been in pain after she performed. But in Valla, Azura had seemed fine when singing, and right now, Laslow felt no pain, only a strange sense of calm.

"Laslow!" Prince Xander. Gods, he wanted to run to him -- he had no idea what was swirling through Xander's head right now, and he wanted to apologize to him, to spill _everything_ , to stop hiding from him. But he _couldn't_. Not right now.

_"Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time..."_

He closed his eyes, listening to the water swirl and dance around him as if it were an extension of himself, and his steps felt light in a way that he had not felt in a long time. This was what he was supposed to be doing. Of _course_ the Heart of Anankos had asked him for help, had enhanced his dancing capabilities. He had to have known that it had been passed down his family line for thousands of years, right? Or had he?

He snapped himself out of the haze that he had entered, his movements still automatic due to having practiced them for so many years. He wondered if his mother would be proud of him.

_"The path is yours to climb..."_

Almost as if finishing the first stanza had been a trigger, everyone else seemed to snap out of their stupor as well.

Anankos _roared_.

**"STOP! STOP!"**

Oh dear. And yet Laslow did not obey, swallowing a lump in his throat. As most of his attention was on the song and there was water around him, he only vaguely noticed that Odin and Selena were desperately trying to get to his side, that they _knew_ that this would make him a target for the Vallites. Everyone else seemed to be focusing solely on Anankos, keeping him distracted so that Laslow could perform and so that Corrin could fight.

Prince Xander and Peri were also close to him, guarding him. Privately, Laslow thought that Xander was doing a remarkable job of keeping his head together and not allowing his emotions to drive him other than ensuring Laslow could continue. But he knew that his lord had questions swirling in his head, and that he was going to be interrogated later if they both got out of this alive. Peri... well, she wouldn't ask too many questions, even if she was fascinated.

_"The sun hangs high in indigo skies..."_

These lyrics were ones that he had never heard Azura sing before, but they spilled out of his mouth as if he had been practicing them for years. The taste of salt hit his lips and he licked them unconsciously. He almost hadn't realized it, due to the water spinning him at all angles, but tears had started spilling down his cheeks.

Laslow had a feeling it wasn't only him that had composed these lyrics.

_"Warm crimson as new hopes arise..."_

The promise that he, Odin, and Selena had made to Anankos's Heart many years ago echoed in his mind, sorrow and grief for the dragon that he had felt when he had learned the story... Anankos was a dragon. A god. But he had pulled Anankos into a hug as if he was a trusted friend, which his companions had joined. Though Anankos said nothing other than simply calling them 'kind', the way that he had relaxed into the hug showed that the dragon had found some comfort in their gesture.

He had smiled at them and had put his faith in them, after all.

_"As illusions in the night..."_

Their journey had not been without heartache. Hiding who they were, serving and opposing people that by all rights were _family_ , refusing to flee even when they could still abandon everything, go home, and not have to concern themselves with others' problems... slowly, piece by piece, they were forced to start unraveling the illusions that they had put on themselves.

With the amount of time that they had spent here, growing and building bonds with people that they never should have interacted with, it was _impossible_ not to.

_"Hidden truths come to light..."_

Selena had been caught using Fujin Yumi in the training grounds by Camilla and Takumi. Odin had defended Lord Leo and Niles with Brynhildr, and Laslow had done the same for Peri and Lord Xander with Siegfried. All three of them had showed a connection to the Hoshidan and Nohrian royalty, and now he was performing a song and dance that only Vallite royalty were capable of. They had yet to explain why, but they were going to have to soon.

Otherwise, everyone else would probably come to the wrong conclusions concerning him. The thought of him being mistaken for one of Garon's formerly numerous children through Arete was _hilarious_ , given it _would_ make sense to anyone that didn't know his history, but it would also be completely false.

But first, before explaining anything, Laslow wanted to end this.

They had _promised_.

_"Sing with me a song of promises and love..."_

Through the motions of the dance, Laslow began to weave forward through the army, slipping seamlessly through them as they parted for him like waves of water, closer to Anankos, his gaze never leaving the dragon's. Really, Anankos was as terrifying to look at as Grima had been. The Silent Dragon was not as large as Grima, and his face certainly looked _strange_ given that his eyes were in an orb in his _mouth_ , but Laslow was uncertain if that was due to Anankos's degeneration or not.

Either way, it didn't matter, not one bit.

_"Learn what you are all made of..."_

Degenerated, the dragon half of Anankos didn't trust humans at _all_ after what had happened. The human half, the sane half, the Heart, had been disillusioned as well, but he had still loved humans enough to leap through time and try to find a group that was willing to help. He had called for help, and three humans named Inigo, Owain, and Severa had responded. They had promised him that they would fulfill his request in exchange for flowers and gravestones they would never get to see, and they were _going to keep it_.

Laslow stopped in front of Anankos, eyes locked on his terrifying visage.

_"The truth embedded in my heart as I bemoan..."_

**"STOP!"**

Anankos raised one hand to swipe at him and he heard Prince Xander's yell as the other fought to get to him. But just before his claws hit him, Anankos hesitated, and pulled it back. **"WHY... DO I NOT WANT TO... NOT TO YOU..."**

Even now, it seemed, the dragon remembered who they were to him. Laslow didn't even flinch and instead smiled at him, his expression radiating warmth and trust despite the fact that he had almost been attacked, still singing.

_"But I am not alone."_

The dragon in front of them was no longer roaring, but _screaming_ because he had been wrong. He had been wrong about humans being untrustworthy. That deep down, in his Heart, that he had been _right_ , that not everyone that he put his faith in would abandon him. There were still humans that trusted him.

It was that knowledge, Laslow knew, that made Anankos start weeping, that made Laslow sing the lyrics that were placed in his mouth as if someone else had written them. Truly, Laslow felt his heart ache with sympathy, but as Odin and Selena stepped up next to him, reassuring him with their mere presence, he knew that they had _promised_.

_"You are the ocean's grey waves..."_

"Corrin! Now!"

It was ending.

**Author's Note:**

> I made up the second stanza of the Vallite song to be specific to Laslow, just like Birthright, Conquest, Revelation, and Heirs of Fate all have different second stanzas.
> 
> Laslow has Major Anankos blood in addition to his Naga blood and Dusk Dragon blood.
> 
> Anankos -> Arete (descendant) -> Azura -> Shigure -> Olivia (descendant) -> Inigo/Laslow -> Soleil  
> Anankos -> Arete (descendant) -> Azura -> second child -> Chrom's father (descendant) -> Inigo/Laslow -> Soleil
> 
> Chrom's ancestor, Marth, is not related to Anankos. Someone descended from Azura married a descendant from Marth down the line and combined both bloodlines. I mean, given that Naga didn't seem to mind that Anankos purloined one (or two, if you go with Chrom!Inigo) of her Branded descendants...
> 
> Camilla Complimenting Laslow's Voice: See Camilla and Laslow's A-Support.


End file.
